Wednesday, February 25, 2009

kieler woche.

founder's day celebrations are this friday. unfortunately i'll likely be doing a time-consuming rehearsal for the change-of-guard ceremony held on the 1st of march. which is, coincidentaly, founder's day.

on the brighter side, i'm likely to at least attend kiel week in late june and the worlds in canada in august. st. margarets bay is pretty much on the other side of the world.

i hope la.

. . .

brad mehldau trio play on march 15th. a double bassist and a percussionist led by brad's eccentric virtuosity on the piano. what first struck me was their cover of radiohead's epic 'exit music (for a film)'. i thought their take was parallel in grandeur to the original. i also like how they seem to emerge from the frenzied chaos in the improvised section of the piece and play the last few bars of the original. brilliance. pity you can't hear the bassist in that clip.

i really do wish they play that song. i also wish they play 'wonderwall' as well, of which i have in mp3. i dare say it's greater than what oasis managed.

then on the 20th, cinematic orchestra bring their live act to the esplanade stage. i hope they cram that stage with instruments and instrumentalists, that they fill our ears with vibrant sounds, odd time signatures, or simply anything i've never heard before, and leave us with memories to cling on to. maybe autographs to cling on to at the end of the concert would do the trick. heh. i also wonder if lou rhodes will make an appearance.

oddly enough, i just realised that cinematic have covered 'exit music (for a film)' as well. of which i also have in mp3. for all you know i'll get to hear that song played for me twice in very different ways in the same week. oh why can't we have the original band play the original? but now i'm just wishing.

what is it about jazz? my dad has called it 'aimless' before. perhaps. i'd rather call it an 'exploration', or a 'study', wandering about and searching out every nook and cranny for possibilities. you're only 'lost' if you're actively trying to get somewhere. if not, well, you're pretty happy wherever you are/end up. in a way, in jazz you can just about hit any note without being off-key. but that's not the point - if jazz was like that then anyone could approach a piano and bang notes and call it avant-garde - rather it's how the notes are played, constructed, the movement from one phrase to another. has anyone realised how difficult it is to play notes that come out differently every single time?

. . .

now i rant about 2 soccer players and 1 manager.

wenger, dear wenger, why do you continue to play eboue and bendtner? i've been watching them play for at least 2 seasons, and i fail to understand why they're still in north london. eboue will run and run and leave the ball behind, which gives an a for effort but an f for not coming up with any conceivable result. i honestly don't think i've ever seen him achieve something by the end of his runs. bendtner comes up with the occasional goal, but doesn't seem to have the touch, speed, creativity nor strength to warrant his frequent appearances.

i like how this article says "that the Croatian (Eduardo) underlined his importance with a brace and a MOM performance in the Cup that saw him contribute more in 90 minutes than Bendtner has in the last three seasons."

yup, after watching both of these dud(e)s balloon chances against roma and cardiff, i decided to put my two cents in. cuz that's almost how much those two are worth in my mind.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

u r a bus

u r defined by statistics - nothing more than facts and figures.

0-100km/h, braking horsepower, manual transmission, turning radius, number of cupholders.

u r also defined by appearance and design. most importantly, the image associated with the badge u carry.

for this week at least, i r defined by statistics. level 12.10, 44cm, 5.55s, 75, 33, 11, 2min 3s, 7.4km, level 13.4. and there's a vo2max this friday as well. heart rate heart rate heart (WAIT!) heart rate heart rate left foot over right foot over left foot just keep pushing to the end.

maximal tests after maximal tests after maximal tests.
but in the end,
maximal tests are maximal tests are maximal tests.
the results
are just figures. figures that don't describe your frame of mind while pushing past the pain barrier, fail to appreciate the effect of encouragement given by peers when roaring to the finish.

figures then, that i'm so tired. for now,
i r busted.